Meditation on Jonah 3:10-4:11
***
When God saw what they did, how the people of the city of Ninevah
turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he
had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. But this was very
displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Isn’t this what I said would
happen while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at
the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to
anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from
punishing. And now, O Lord,
please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to
live.’ And the Lord said,
‘Is it right for you to be angry?’
Then Jonah went out of the city and sat
down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in
the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.The Lord God appointed a bush, and
made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his
discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up
the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it
withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun
beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might
die. He said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’ But God said to Jonah,
‘Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?’ And he said, ‘Yes, angry
enough to die.’ Then the Lord said,
‘You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you
did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And
should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are
more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand
from their left, and also many animals?’
***
When I first saw the lectionary scriptures
for this Sunday, I was excited to see a reading from Jonah! Jonah doesn’t come
up too often in our 3-year lectionary cycle. And who doesn’t like the story of
Jonah and the whale?! And then I read the scripture—and thought, “Oh…”
This isn’t the story of Jonah and the
whale. This is the final chapter of the book of Jonah—the part that follows the
reluctant prophet’s redemption from the belly of a great fish—set free to do
God’s will and proclaim God’s Word to wicked Ninevah. The ancient city in
Mesopotamia on the eastern bank of the Tigris River was an important junction
for commercial routes and the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the largest
city in the world during the 8th century B.C. The ruins of the
once great city may be seen across the river from the modern-day city of Mosul, Iraq. But Ninevah, the center of Assyrian power, had many enemies,
including Israel. The prophet Nahum speaks of the city’s brutality; II Kings
blames the city for the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel.
After
God calls Jonah to go to Ninevah, he tries to run away from God’s presence; he
boards a ship headed in the opposite direction. But God sends a terrible storm
and the frightened sailors, at Jonah’s urging, throws Jonah overboard to be
swallowed up by a great fish. After 3 days and nights in the belly of the fish,
Jonah senses his life “ebbing away.” He prays, calling out to God “in his
distress,” praising the Lord and promising to be obedient—if the Lord delivers
him.
Then God, who is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, speaks to the great fish, and
the fish spits up Jonah onto dry land. Jonah has his second chance to be the
man God wants him to be! Grateful for his rescue, he obeys the Lord. He goes to
Ninevah and proclaims the message God gives to him, warning the city that in 40
days, the city will be overthrown.
But miraculously, the king and the people
of Ninevah repent from their sins. In chapter 3, we read that they “believed the
Lord.” The king proclaims a time of
fasting and prayer for the city. He removes his royal robes, puts on sackcloth—
a mourning garment—and sits in ashes to show his change of heart. He orders all
human beings and animals in the city to be covered with sackcloth and cry out “mightily”
to the Lord. “All shall turn from their evil ways,” he says, “and from the
violence that is in their hands.” Then the king, who has learned of the kindness
of the God of Israel, says prophetically, “And who knows? God may relent and
change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”
That’s
exactly what happens.
Today’s reading begins with God seeing
the king and all the people of Ninevah turning from evil. God “changes his mind.”
He does not bring the calamity down upon the city that he had led Jonah to warn
them about.
Jonah
responds in anger—and we find out the real reason Jonah fled from God’s call in
the first place. It wasn’t just because he was afraid or didn’t want to go to the
wicked Ninevah, the enemy of Israel. He didn’t want to go because of what he
knew about God’s character! “For I knew that you are a gracious God,” Jonah
says. “And merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and ready to
relent from punishing!”
Jonah, who has just been given a second
chance at life—rescued from the belly of a great fish—now can’t bear to see
God’s mercy shown to his enemies. He begs the Lord, “please take my life from
me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
***
Well, it wasn’t the Jonah story I
expected. But it is the very human message that we all need to hear! So often,
we pray “thy will be done.” But when God reveals His will to us, we don’t
always like it! God’s will may involve suffering, loss, and sacrifice. God’s
will always involves transformation of hearts and lives—and we, like Jonah,
don’t want to have a change of heart, especially if it involves forgiving someone
who has sinned against us. But it is
always God’s will to forgive—and to love one another. Christ tells us that if
anyone wants to be his disciple, they have to take up their cross and follow
him. The life of a disciple means dying to self—giving up the life we want—or
think we deserve—and embracing the life the Lord has planned for us—so we may
be used for God’s glory.
Friends, we have all been angry with God!
That doesn’t mean we aren’t people of faith! It means we are human and need God’s
grace. All of us have thought at one time or another that God’s will and the
lives that we live are not what we want. But no matter how hard we try to get
away from Him, there is nowhere we can go to be out of God’s presence. We can
take comfort in that—and in the character of the God that Jonah knew. We aren’t
so different from Jonah—who loved the Lord and wanted God to be gracious and
merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, for his own sake—but
to be a God of wrath and vengeance for his enemies!
The Lord responds to us like he responds
to Jonah, when the prophet cries out defiantly, “Please take my life.”
God is gentle, patient and kind.
“Is it
right for you to be angry?” God asks.
Jonah doesn’t bother to answer the Lord’s
question. He already knows the answer—just like when we are angry at God, and
we know that it’s wrong, but we can’t seem to help being angry, anyway.
The book of Jonah ends abruptly. He leaves
the city and goes east, building a little booth—a temporary shelter—like the
Israelites did when they were wandering in the wilderness. Then Jonah watches the
city and waits to see what happens! This makes me wonder, since God had already
promised not to destroy the city, if Jonah is waiting—and hoping—to catch the
city sinning after they have turned from their evil ways!
But
the Lord, ever patient with Jonah, blesses him with a bush—a big bean
plant—that grows quickly and gives him shade. Jonah is very happy with his
bush—and is angry, again, when the Lord sends a worm the next day to attack the
bush, and it dies.
Once more, the Lord gently confronts Jonah
with his sin, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?”
Jonah responds this time, “Yes! Angry enough
to die.”
But the story of Jonah doesn’t end with his
defiant words and death. God has the last word—and His Word is life. The final
verse is God’s question that reveals His care for the many people who do not
yet know or love Him. “Should I not be concerned about Ninevah, that great
city,” he asks, “in which there are more than 120,000 people who do not know
their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
***
Jonah
is a good model for the people of faith—of what we should and shouldn’t do! We
should, like Jonah, listen for God’s voice and pray to the Lord when we are
angry and when are afraid. There is never a time when we shouldn’t pray! Be
honest with God, like Jonah, who doesn’t try to hide his thoughts or feelings! But
remember to cast all your cares upon him!
And when God reveals His will to us—as He
does for Jonah, let us not run away or otherwise disobey. It’s a matter of
trust. Do we trust Him to show us the way and to give us all the help and courage
that we need?
Then let us, like Jonah, proclaim God’s
Word to the nations, going to even the dark places we might not wish to go—just
as the prophet was called to reach out to the wicked city of Ninevah.
But may we never, like Jonah, lose our hope
and joy in this journey of faith. Let us say to the Lord, “Please take my life!”
not in anger or defiance, but to express our devotion and commitment to Him.
Let us, with God’s help, surrender ourselves and all of our days
to the One who did not spare His Only Son for a world perishing in its sins. A
world that did not know Him. Our God is the One, the only One, who is gracious
and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Let us
pray.
Holy One,
thank you for your mercy and grace—for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to show
us the way back to You when we were perishing in our sins. Thank you for being
so patient with us, for forgiving us when we have been angry or judgmental and
didn’t want to obey. When we have been filled with pride and refused to forgive
others and follow in Christ’s self-giving ways.
Thank you for keeping us firmly in your eternal grasp, safely in the
palm of your hand, not letting us slip away, no matter how hard we try to run from
your presence. Give us courage and strength to do your will for all of our
days. Lead us to be bold and proclaim your Word to the nations, surrendering
ourselves and giving our lives for your sake, going even to the darkest places
to share about the God, the only One, who is gracious and merciful, slow to
anger and abounding in steadfast love. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen!
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